Love it or dislike it (and let’s be honest, pumpkin beer is a polarizing brew), you can easily find plenty of pumpkin beers this season. If your aim is a spicy non-alcoholic pumpkin option, choices have been scarce. That’s why I was delighted to see Athletic Brewing Co. not settle for a run-of-the-mill pumpkin ale for their “Brew of the Month,” but instead debut something called Dark & Gourdy Pumpkin & Spice.
So of course I grabbed a six-pack, popped open Sleepy Hollow, and set out to sample it. Here’s how my tasting unfolded.
Athletic Brewing Co.’s Dark & Gourdy Pumpkin & Spice
Advantages: The beer performs surprisingly well. The name “Dark & Gourdy” feels almost prophetic, because that’s precisely what you taste—along with a gentle, pleasantly lingering touch of spice. Interestingly, the phrase “Pumpkin & Spice” appears smaller on the can (a festive, bold orange), which is fitting since, unlike many pumpkin brews, this one places pumpkin in a secondary role. Athletic says they blend ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon—the familiar trio you’d expect—but the balance is so even and subtle that none of them stands out clearly. They come across as warming, woody, and just a touch playful (and that’s the holy grail of pumpkin spice, friends).
The real standout here, though, is the malt—an ideal companion for a porter. Porters emphasize malt in different ways, and we don’t need to dive into that whole spectrum now; what matters is that the maltiness in Dark & Gourdy feels rich and dark without weighing the beer down. The roasted character leaves a mocha-like impression.
Drawbacks: It’s a minor quibble in an overall success, but the listed IBU is 20 (low on a scale that runs well above 120). And while that level is modest, the bitterness comes through a bit more than the number suggests, so I adjusted my score accordingly.
FINAL ASSESSMENT:
Whether pumpkin is the name of the game or not, this season seems to call for pumpkin beers that strike a true balance—and in the darker styles, this should serve as a benchmark. The pumpkin flavor remains deliberately restrained, barely noticeable, never overly sweet, and it forms a fleshy counterpoint to the spice and the brisk, coffee-forward malt. And since this is a porter rather than a stout, you get all that depth and warming spice in a beer with a lighter body. The malt backbone alone is well worth the attention—no single pumpkin or spice component shouting for the spotlight.
